New year and 760 new state laws

Consumers: Under Senate Bill 746, people under the age of 18 will be prohibited from using indoor tanning beds. At the iTan tanning salon in Mission Valley, Janelle Brown spends a few minutes in the UV tanning booth.
— Nelvin C. Cepeda

Consumers: Under Senate Bill 746, people under the age of 18 will be prohibited from using indoor tanning beds. At the iTan tanning salon in Mission Valley, Janelle Brown spends a few minutes in the UV tanning booth.
— Nelvin C. Cepeda

SACRAMENTO  Many Californians make resolutions for the new year. In Sacramento, they make laws — lots of laws.

This legislative handiwork will touch consumers, children, college students and possibly even the Chargers.

A number of those incoming laws have already been met with controversy and challenges.

Those include requiring public schools to teach gay history, a ban on the open display of unloaded handguns and the ability of minors to receive preventive treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without parental approval.

In all, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a dizzying 760 bills into law in 2011. Here’s a look at some of the more far-reaching:

Education

• School curriculum must address gay rights, and disability rights, including notable figures in the history of both communities. SB 48.

• Under the two-bill Dream Act, illegal immigrants attending college starting Jan. 1 can apply for private financial aid. AB 130. Then starting Jan. 1, 2013, those students can apply for public aid, such as scholarships and fee waivers. They could receive Cal Grants starting in the fall of 2013. AB 131.

• Student athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion during a game or practice must be immediately pulled out of action and be cleared by a licensed health care provider. AB 25.

• Trained staff may administer anti-seizure medicine to students with epilepsy. SB 161.

• Children who start kindergarten must be at least 5. The law pushes up the required birthday for admission to kindergarten from Dec. 2 to Sept. 1. The change will be phased in one month at a time over three years starting in fall 2012.

Motorists

• Children who are younger than 8 or shorter than 4 feet 9 inches must be buckled

into a back-seat booster. SB 929.

• Car buyers will pay $25 more for documentation fees. In return, dealers must post a red warning sign if the vehicle had been totaled, returned under the “lemon law” or suffered some other catastrophic damage. Effective July 1. AB 1215.

Motorists: Under SB 929, children who are younger than 8 or shorter than 4 feet 9 inches must be buckled into a back-seat booster.
— Charlie Neuman

Motorists: Under SB 929, children who are younger than 8 or shorter than 4 feet 9 inches must be buckled into a back-seat booster.
— Charlie Neuman

San Diego projects

• A two-bill package has the potential of influencing the future of San Diego’s proposed convention center and stadium for the Chargers. Special environmental concessions for a proposed venue in Los Angeles has been granted, which might help the neighbor to the north lure the Chargers (SB 292). Also, projects valued at more than $100 million, such as a convention center or stadium in San Diego, could be fast-tracked if special environmental programs are put in place and those plans are ready by 2015. AB 900.

Health

• Those under 18 will need a prescription to buy over-the-counter cold medicines containing dextromethorphan. It is found in popular medications such as NyQuil. SB 514.

• Child care providers have new nutritional guidelines: only serve 1 percent or nonfat milk to children ages 2 or older; only one serving of juice once a day and no beverages allowed that include added sweeteners. (Passed in 2010, but takes effect in 2012.) AB 2084.

Law enforcement

• Prisoners must notify prosecutors 10 days before filing a clemency appeal with the governor. The impetus was then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s surprise clemency for Esteban Núñez, the son of a political ally and former speaker of the Assembly. Esteban Núñez was involved in a fatal brawl at San Diego State University. AB 648.

• Live pets cannot be sold on any street, parking lot, carnival or boardwalk. SB 917.

• Sales of certain synthetic marijuana compounds known as “spice” or “K2” are prohibited. SB 420.

Future laws

• Baby bottles and “sippy cups” can no longer contain certain levels of Bisphenol, a chemical believed to be damaging to infants and children. Effective July 1, 2013. AB 1319.

• State will track long-gun sales much like it currently does for handguns. Effective Jan. 1, 2014. AB 809.